Wall construction



y 1944a cs. E. SWENSON 2,347,756

WALL CONS TRUCTION Filed Jan. 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a ZSzwezzsarz May2, 1944. e. E. SWENSON WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 8, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 2 (N v w M \k Q y 2, 1944- 5. E. SWENSON 2,347,756

WALL CONS TRUCTION I Filed Jan. 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I May 2, 1944-G. E. SWENSON WALL CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fileddan. 8, 1942Patented May 2, 1944 George E.

Swenson, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y.,'

assignor to The Celotex Corporation, Chicago,

111., a corporation of Delaware Application January 8, 1942, Serial No.426,091

6 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) This invention relates to wall construction andmore particularly to wall construction for lowcost houses, factories,and other buildings, and has for its object to provide a simple andemclent wall, less costly to manufacture and erect, than those.heretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in view the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly covered by the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification and in which like numerals designate like parts in all theviews,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a building adjacent the cornerthereof, wherein the wall has been made in accordance with thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1,said view being taken .on the line 2-2 of Fig. l and looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 2 but on an enlarged scale in order toillustrate more clearly the details of construction;

Fig. 4 is a-horizontal sectional view taken as on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the clips used in this wallconstruction;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but on an enlarged scale toillustrate more clearly the details of construction;

Fig. '7 is an exterior elevational view of a portion of the wall in theregion of the joint between horizontally and vertically disposed, andadjacent, wall panels;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig.- 1 but illustrating a modification ofthe invention when used in conjunction with windows or the like insertedin the wall;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken as on the line 99 of Fig. 8and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken as on the line Ill-40 of Fig.8 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view taken as on the line ll-|l ofFig. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

This invention is .particularly adaptable to buildings which can beerected quickly, and at y extremely low costs, and wherein each exteriorwall comprises a plurality of preformed. wall panels which can bereadily inserted in place and secured to a framework comprisingprincipally primary and secondary structural members disposed verticallyand/or horizontally.

Each wall panel may be fabricated as desired of any suitable material ormaterials, and of any suitable dimensions, though it is highly desirableto form each panel of durable material which has heat-insulatingcharacteristics, each panel preferably being of considerablesize inorder to reduce the number of panels comprising the wall. In practice ithas been found convenient and highly practical to provide a panelsubstantially ten feet long by four feet wide by two inches thick, thecore of such panel comprising a relatively fibrous compressed material,with a lamination of a relatively hard substance such as cementitiousmaterial on each of the two large surfaces, and such a panel is to befound on the market under the trade name Cemesto" manufactured by'TheCelotex Corporation, of Chicago, Illinois.

The framework may comprise steel, wood, or

' other members spaced in accordance with the dimensions of the wallpanels so that each panel may be slipped readily into position, with arelatively close fit, with respect to the said mem' bers, and theprimary structural members will of course be disposed vertically inorder to take the load of the building, and the secondary structuralmembers may be vertically and/or horizontally disposed in accordancetions of height of building, maximum loadto be supported, and/or thedimensions of the wall panels. In the drawings, the framework isillustrated as comprising metallic structural members.

More specifically, and referring to the drawings, the numeral ldesignates a concrete foundation for supporting foundation may comprisespaced piers 2 to which the vertical primary structural members such as3 may be secured as by the angles 4, as well as comprise concrete sills5 upon which the wall panels such as 6 may rest, suitable braces such as1 being secured at their upper ends to the primary members 3 and attheir lower ends to the concrete foundation and/or to adjacent primarymembers, in order to brace the framework against lateral pressures. Inthe drawings the primary members 3 have been illustratedas steel I-beamsbut they may be structural members of other shapes as desired, butpreferably an outer surface of each primary member is disposed sub-'stantially in the plane of the inner large surwith the condi-..

the building wall, and saidface of the wall panels-6 forming thebuilding wall. At a corner of the building, and as clearly illustratedin Fig. 6; additional or secondary structural members such as thevertically disposed steel angles 8 and 9 may be carried by the primarymember, said angles being of such dimensions that the outer surface ofthe flange In of the outermost angle 9 will be substantially in theplane of the panels 6 to provide a support for said panels.

To the outer surfaces of each primary member 3 as well as to the outersurface of each steel angle 9, is suitably secured as by welding a Ivertically disposed anchor bar i5 of a dimension no greater than thethickness of the wall panel 6, and in the outer surface of each anchorbar I5 there is provided a plurality of spaced conical counterborescommunicating with a tapped or threaded hole the axis of which is,substantially perpendicular to the outer face of the wall. Each panel 6relatively closely fits the space between two adjacent anchor bars l5,and the joint between two horizontally adjacent panels, as well as saidanchor bar, is covered by a vertically disposed batten l6 secured inplace by spaced studs Il extending therethrough and threaded intothe'holes of the anchor bars, said counterbores assisting in directingthe studs into said holes. The anchor bars, the battens I 6 and theprimary and secondary structural members,

may be continuous from bottom to top of the building, or there may be aplurality thereof in such vertical extent in which latter case thebattens will have their ends overlapped as proof against entry of storm.

Each preformed wall panel 6 has a 'Z-bar secured to one edge thereof, asby bolts such as l8, said bolts passing through one flange of the Z-bar, the web or intermediate portion of the 2- bar being in surfacecontact with the long edge of the wall panel and of such a dimensionthat the other flange of the Z-bar will lie substantially in the planeof the surface of an adjoining wall panel, see Figs. 3 and 7. In' otherwords, the flange [9 of said Z-bar is bolted in surface contactwith theouter surface of the wall panel,

and the other flange 20 will lie in surface contact with the innersurface of an aligned superposed wall panel when said panels areassembled in the building wall. Therefore, only one of the long edges ofa wall panel has such a Z-bar secured thereto, and when erecting thepanels in the building wall, the panels will be so positioned that theirZ-bars will be at the upper edges thereof. e

The superposed aligned panel is secured to the upwardly extending flange20 of the.Z-bar of the lower panel by a plurality of similar clamps 2|each carried by a bolt 22 passing through the lower edge portion of thesuperposed panel. Each clamp may be formed conveniently of a piece ofsheet metal bentupon itself into a U- shape to provide a leg 23 adaptedto overlie the flange 20 of the Z-bar, and a spacing leg 241 adapted tolie in contact with the inner surface of the superposed panel, therebeing provided. a bore 25 through the leg 23 for receiving said bolt 22.Felt or other weatherproof washers: may be provided on the exterior wallin association with the heads o'f'all bolts such as l1, l8 and 22,

To the sill 5 is secured a horizontal-structural member such as theangle 30, the vertical flange of which is substantially in the plane ofthe inner surface of a wall panel, said flange extendof the buildingplace by a plurality of holding clamps similar to the clamp 2 Justdescribed.

In laying the wall panels, a sealing strip 32 of impregnated felt orother waterproof material is laid to receive thereon the bottommost edgeof-each panel, thereby preventing seepage of water into each horizontalpanel joint.

At the vertical joint between horizontally ad- Jacent wall panels, asealing strip such as 33 of the same or similar waterproof material (i.e. felt) is laid or cemented along the outer surface of said panels atthe vertical edge portion thereof (see Fig. 7) and said strip' is of awidth suflicient to extend slightly beyond the edge of the verticalbattens l6, said strips preferably being continuous from top 'to bottomof the 'wall so as to provide a single thickness of the strip betweensaid batten and the outer surface of the wall panels. Preferably, eachvertical batten is made of relatively thin metal and arcuate incross-section as illustrated in Fig. 6 so that when the bolts ll aretightened the battenwill be placed under tension sufficient to cause thevertical edges of said batten to tightly engage and compress thewaterproof strip 33 to provide a weatherproof joint, as will be clearlyunderstood.

In the bottommost tier of wall panels, the lower portions 01' each panelare seem-ed by the clamps such as 2| against any movement transverselyof the building wall, but means are provided for securing the upper edgeportions from such lateral movement, and the said means may comprise, asillustrated, a metallic plate such as the circular washer 34 of adimension to overlap the adjacent vertical edges of said panels andsecured as by the bolt 35 threadingly engaging a hole formed in theanchor bar I5. If found necessary, due to the vertical dimension of thewall panel, a plurality of such holding washers may be provided. In likemanner similar washers are provided to secure the upper portions of thepanels in each superposed tier of wall panels.

The corner of the building wall may be finished as desired, two waysbeing illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. According to Fig. 6, the corner isbuilt up of short sections 36 of wall panels, with an exterior metallicsheath 31 disposed thereover and secured in place in any suitablemanner.

According to Fig. 4, the metallic sheath 31, is.

provided to complete the corner of the building, but the short sections38 of panel material are omitted and the space within the sheath. filleding be more than one story, there may be provid ed in the plane of eachfloor above the first, a horizontally disposed framing member such asthe I-beam 4| shown in Fig. 2 and secured to the primary structuralmembers 3, one flange of the beam 4| preferably lying substantially inthe plane of the wall panels. The beam 4| may also be employed in theframework of a building having no intermediate nor upper floors, butwhen the vertical height of the wall is relatively great.

Coming now to the modification of construction shown in Figs. 8 to 11,substantially the same construction is employed as heretofore describedin that portion of the walls of the building where no window openingsare provided and therefore the same reference numerals as heretoforegiven have been applied to the similar .and

' posed steel T-bar 16, the web of which is horizontal and the head ofwhich is disposed substantially in the plane of the window, the webcarrying brackets such as 11 engaging the inner surface of a lower wallpanel 6, the outer surface of said lower panel being in contact with thehead of the T-bar (see Fig. 9). The lintel is secured at its ends, as bywelding, to angles such as 18, which angles are bolted or otherwisesecured to the flanges such as III of the vertical angle 9 carried bythe primary structural members 3, and similarly the ends of the web ofthe T-bar 16 are welded to angles such as 19, which angles are bolted orotherwise secured to said flanges ID of said vertical angles 9 (see Fig.10).

The windows may be of any construction but preferably they are providedwith a metallic frame 80 the upper member of which (see Fig. 10) is insurface'contact with the'outer surface of the depending flange 8| of thelintel l5 and, to secure the window frame to said linteLthere isprovided an angle .82 bolted to the window frame and engaging theopposite surface of said flange 8|; The window frame is secured at itslower extremity by an angle member 83 carried by the window frame and ofsuch character as to engage the inner surface of the head of the T-barl6 (sill), and to force the lower member 84 of the window frame intocontact with the outer surface of said T-bar head. A Z-bar 85, similarto that previously. described, is employed at the joint between thesuperposed .wall panel B and the lintel 15, the web or intermediateportion of said Z-bar being welded or otherwise secured to said linteland the clip 2| being provided to secure the lower extremity of saidpanel to said Z-bar, the depending flange of said Z -bar overlying theupper member 80 of the window frame.

Where the window frames are of a width less than the distance betweenadjacent primary structural members 3, or where plural window frames arepositioned between --said members, and/or where it may be necessary-toprovide a brace or' support for the windows at a point intermediate saidmembers, the construction illustrated in Fig. 9 is employed inconjunction with the'lintel I5 and the sill 76. This auxiliary supportcomprises a vertically disposed channel memher or mullion generallyidentified. by the numeral the upper web portion 91' of which is boltedor otherwise secured to the depending flange 8| of said lintel, thelower web portion 92 of said channel being similarly secured to the headof the T-bar l6 (sill), these end portions of said web being inset, ordisplaced out of the plane ofthe central web portion 93 of said channel,in order that said central portionmay contact the inner surface of aside member (such as 94 and/or 95) of the window frame (see Fig. 11),and a vertical batten 96 is provided to overlie said side member, saidbatten being secured in place by bolts such as 91 engagingthe web 93 ofsaid channel or mullion, the upper extremity of said batten lyingbeneath the depending flange of the Z-bar 85. Weatherproof felt stripsmaybe provided at all exterior joints in connection with the windowframe. Where the sides of a window frame coincide with the primarystructural members 3 (see Fig. 11) the same anchor bars l5 are providedbut it may be necessary to provide spacer members 98 over the outer facethereof in order to correctly position the window frames in the wall.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spiritof this invention and therefore it is desired not to be limited to theexact foregoing disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a building wall the combination of vertical structural members; ananchor bar disposed centrally of the outer face of each of such membersand forming a recess therewith, each bar provided with a plurality ofbores extending inwardly from the outer surface thereof; a plupanels inplace; a batten disposed at the vertical joint between said adjacentpanels, said battenbeing arcuate in transverse section with the sideedges thereof engaging the outer surfaces of said adjacent panels andthe central portion of said batten spanning said tension means and anadditional tensioning means engaging a bore of said bar and securingsaid batten in place.

2. In a building wall the combination of vertical structural members; ananchor bar disposed centrally of the outer face of each of such membersand forming a recess therewith; a plurality of similarly formed wallpanels arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, each panel spanning thespace between two adjacent such members, the ends of each panel closelyfitting such recesses; tension means carried by each of such bars andsecuring the vertical edges of said panels to such members; and areinforcement secured along a horizontal edge of each panel andextending across the adjacent edge face of the panel, said reinforcementlapping and secured to an unreinforced horizontal edge of the nextvertically adjacent panel thereby securing the horizontal joint betweenpanels against transverse displacement.

3. In a building wall the combination of vertical structural members; ananchor, bar disposed centrally of the outer face of each of such membersand forming a recess therewith; a plurality zontal and vertical rows,each panel spanning the Y space between two adjacent such members, the

ends of each panel closely fitting such recesses: tension means carriedby each of such bars and securing the vertical edges of said panels tosuch members; and a reinforcement secured to the outer face of eachpanel at one horizontal edge thereoifi sa'id reinforcement extendingthrough the joint between vertically adjacent panels and secured to theinner face of the adjoining panel thereby securing the horizontal jointbetween panels against transverse displacement.

4. In a building wall the combination of vertical structural members; ananchor bar disposed centrally of the outer face of each of such membersand forming a recess therewith; a plurality of similarly formed wallpanels arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, each panel spanning thespace between two adjacent such members, the ends of each panel closelyfitting such recesses; tension means carried by each of such bars andsecuring the vertical edges of said panels to such members; and areinforcement comprising a Z-bar one flange of which is: secured to theouter face of each panel along one horizontal edge of the panel, the webof said Z-bar extending through the joint between vertically adjacentpanels, and the other flange of said Z-bar secured to the inner face ofthe adjoining panel thereby securing. the horizontal joint betweenpanels against transverse displace ment.

5. In a building wall the combination with a foundation, of a pluralityof similar'vertically aligned wall panels, and a reinforcement for eachhorizontal joint formed thereby, said reinforcement comprising a Z-barthe web of which is disposed in such joint, the lower flange of theZ-bar engaging the outer surface of its supportingmember, and the upperflange of the Z-barengaging the inner surface of its supported memberand the flanges of the Z-bar secured to the upper edge of the lowerpanel and the lower edge of

